


Dark and Quiet

by ghost_malone



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort, Communication, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Other, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Post-Recall, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 13:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17366345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghost_malone/pseuds/ghost_malone
Summary: Jack Morrison has a migraine. He and Ana cuddle. Gabriel is discussed.





	Dark and Quiet

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic and it was completely self-indulgent so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. May your heart be like mashed potatoes, soft and warm.

The sun hadn’t quite yet begun to peek over the desert horizon when Ana emerged shivering from her cot to put on tea and wake up properly. She expected Jack was up already and never bothered to look in the direction of his bed. Jack Morrison, by powers superhuman or supernatural, never slept in past 5 am.

When she made her way up the rocky steps of the crypt to its roof, wrapped in the world’s second itchiest blanket (she gave the world’s itchiest to Jack, naturally), she was surprised to find herself alone.

It was early yet, she reasoned, and took his usual spot in the shadows, sipping her tea and trying not to fall back asleep. But by the time the sun had crept over the horizon and its blazing light reached her single, squinting eye, and Jack still hadn’t risen from bed, she knew only one thing could be keeping him.

She tiptoed her way back into the depths of the Necropolis and found her companion motionless in his cot, his rucksack pulled over his head to block out the light, or perhaps in a pathetic, half-baked attempt to suffocate himself, and found her suspicions confirmed. Jack Morrison had another migraine.

He suffered from them for as long as she knew him, though they seemed to get more frequent and exponentially worse with age. This was his third since their reunion, and each left him as bedridden as he was today. It never got easier watching him suffer. But it was effortless for her to help.

Slipping out of her jacket and shoes, she crawled onto the dingy cot beside him. She felt him move to accommodate her small frame and reached for the duffel, hauling it off his head and onto the floor. 

"Giv'uh back." Jack grunted. 

Ana shushed him with a kiss to the temple. "It takes up too much room." She told him. "It’s me or the duffel bag."

A moment of silence passed. Heaving a sigh, Jack rolled over and settled against Ana, scooting to hide his face in her soft midsection. 

The two curled around each other with a familiar ease. Ana stroked Jack's hair, letting her fingers linger at his temples. 

"Another migraine?" She murmured. 

"Mm." He grunted again. 

"Poor thing." Ana let her own eyes drift closed as she lightly scratched Jack's scalp with her fingernails. His genetic modifications left his body warmer than average to the touch, a curse in the sweltering Egyptian heat but a blessing during its cooler nights. This morning was chilly enough to keep the two of them comfortable.

"Is there anything I can do?" She whispered.

"You could stop talking." He muttered.

Ana rolled her eye. As if feeling her annoyance, Jack's body softened.

"Sorry." He mumbled with a heavy sigh. "That was rude."

"It was." She agreed with a chuckle. "You're getting grumpy in your old age."

That pulled Jack away from her. He lifted his head to shoot her a sulking glare.

"You're older than me." He reminded her. 

"And yet I'm _still_ nicer." Ana teased, snickering when it drew a deeper sulk from her friend. _"And_ better-looking. Here, let me up. I have an idea."

The pair carefully shuffled around as Ana sat upright, crossing her legs and leaning back against the wall. She guided Jack to rest his head in her lap and pulled off her headscarf, draping the soft fabric over his closed eyes. Once they were comfortable, she reached down to press her fingertips against his temples and began to massage them gently. The hum of relief it pulled from the man in her lap made her chuckle.

"Better?" She chuckled. 

Jack grunted in agreement. The two fell into a comfortable silence as Ana continued massaging Jack's aching head. For a while, she wondered if he fell back asleep, and was content to let him rest, but his rough, familiar voice rumbled once more.

"Smells nice." He mumbled, reaching up to touch the scarf to which he was referring. "The scarf. New shampoo?"

Ana smiled. "I found it in town.” She admitted. “You wouldn’t believe how much dirt one head of hair can acquire.”

Jack began to sulk again. “I guess not.” He muttered.

After a moment of confusion, Ana snickered. “I didn’t mean it like _that.”_ She teased, reaching up to ruffle the old man’s thinning hair. “I only meant I was getting a bit… ripe, out here.”

Jack hummed in agreement. "I smell like a bag of assholes."

Ana barked a laugh, quickly reaching up to cover her mouth and stifle the sudden noise. "Such language!" 

Jack's tight lips finally spread in a smile. "It's something Gabe used to say."

The pair lapsed into a sudden, uncomfortable silence. The topic of Gabriel had become a sensitive one, both of them tiptoeing around his name until they could have the conversation neither of them wanted to have.

For Ana, it seemed simple. Gabriel was their friend. He clearly needed help. It was their responsibility to find out and fix whatever mess he'd gotten himself into.

But nothing was ever so simple for Jack. He tirelessly toiled over every conundrum that came his way, thinking deeply and carefully and for often frustrating stretches of time. He needed to read every report first. He needed to hear from every advisor or expert on the subject. He needed all the facts. And he didn’t have all the facts with Gabriel. In fact, it didn’t even seem like he wanted them.

"Jack--" 

"Don't."

"You can't pretend he doesn't exist forever, you know."

"Sure I can. I have a _great_ imagination."

_"Jack."_

"I'm not _pretending he doesn't exist."_ He snapped, the sudden aggression drawing Ana's hands away in surprise. "I'm just... I don't know what to think yet." 

Another roll of the eye. How many times had Ana heard _that_ from him before?

"I think you do." She argued gently. "And I think you're either too scared or too stubborn to admit the truth inside you."

She pulled the scarf away from Jack's face, leaning over to force a meeting of their gazes. "But I'm not scared," she continued, "Because I know Gabriel. And if he's part of Talon, it's not because he's suddenly developed a taste for terrorism. Gabriel is deeper than that. He plays chess where you play checkers."

Jack's eyebrows knitted together. "Did you just call me stupid?"

Ana smiled. "Well, you are, my dear. At least compared to me and Gabriel."

"... I think I'm madder that you're not wrong." He admitted, frowning harder.

A loving chuckle bubbled from Ana's throat. She sat up and resumed massaging her friend's temples, watching his eyes drift closed. They fell silent again, the tension between them thinned somewhat.

"What if he doesn't want us?" Jack asked, opening his eyes again. "What if he doesn't want our help?"

Ana paused to consider the question. She hummed in thought as her eye drifted up and away to stare at the wall as she pondered.

"Well," she began, looking back down at Jack, "When have I ever let what you or Gabriel want stop me from doing whatever I think is best for you?"

Jack stared at his friend in quiet confusion. Then he grinned and let out a hoarse chuckle that grew into something full-throated and hearty, snorting terribly enough to pull Ana into a shared moment of uproarious laughter. They laughed until it hurt, then continued giggling foolishly at each other until they ran out of breath.

"Point taken." He snickered once they recovered. "Get back down here. You’re too noisy."

With more semi-contained snickering another careful shuffling of their bodies, Ana lay on her back as Jack crawled into bed beside her, sandwiched between her warm body and the freezing brick wall at his back. She wrapped an arm around his massive shoulders and pulled the scarf over his face once more.

"There." She said. "Dark and quiet. Just how you like it."

When she saw the near-imperceptible upturn of the corner of Jack's lip, she smiled too.


End file.
